Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sungai Petani and Sydney

For one person, living is cheaper in Sungai Petani: $806 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Sungai Petani
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Sungai Petani Living Index
155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index

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Sungai Petani

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$806

/mo nomad

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sungai Petani and in Sydney

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sungai Petani and in Sydney actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $806 in Sungai Petani versus $3,152 in Sydney.

Sungai Petani $806
Sydney $3,152

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,201 in Sungai Petani versus $4,710 in Sydney.

Sungai Petani $1,201
Sydney $4,710

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,596 in Sungai Petani versus $6,268 in Sydney.

Sungai Petani $1,596
Sydney $6,268

Living in Sungai Petani costs roughly 74% less than in Sydney, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sungai Petani is 40% below, Sydney is 133% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.43 MYR 9.93

$17.57 A$25.25

-86.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.94 MYR 69.1

$91.5 A$131

-81.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.28 MYR 17.46

$11.96 A$17.18

-64.21%

Cappuccino

$2.50 MYR 10.20

$4.07 A$5.84

-38.57%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 MYR 2.96

$2.85 A$4.09

-74.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MYR 1.56

$2.25 A$3.23

-83.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.67 MYR 14.99

$7.60 A$10.92

-51.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 MYR 18.18

$7.43 A$10.67

-39.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 MYR 7.52

$1.66 A$2.38

10.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 MYR 4.26

$2.78 A$4.00

-62.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 MYR 6.92

$2.42 A$3.48

-29.75%

Eggs

$2.21 MYR 9.00

$5.64 A$8.10

-60.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.55 MYR 38.96

$11.71 A$16.83

-18.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.42 MYR 18.04

$9.66 A$13.87

-54.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.60 MYR 35.07

$16.75 A$24.06

-48.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.04 MYR 12.42

$4.07 A$5.84

-25.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MYR 6.66

$3.25 A$4.67

-49.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MYR 10.68

$3.44 A$4.95

-23.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.78

$4.28 A$6.15

-66.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 MYR 4.34

$3.28 A$4.71

-67.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 MYR 4.36

$2.30 A$3.30

-53.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 MYR 4.41

$2.30 A$3.30

-53.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.33

$1.21 A$1.73

-52.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MYR 17.54

$43.71 A$62.8

-90.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.13 MYR 78.0

$13.88 A$19.94

37.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 MYR 11.95

$3.90 A$5.61

-24.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.34 MYR 21.78

$3.91 A$5.62

36.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MYR 3.04

$3.04 A$4.37

-75.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.48 MYR 50.9

$150 A$216

-91.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 MYR 6.83

$3.38 A$4.85

-50.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 MYR 1.66

$1.56 A$2.24

-73.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.38 MYR 30.13

$40.01 A$57.5

-81.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.48 MYR 1.95

$1.40 A$2.01

-65.71%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$42.1K MYR 171.8K

$29.1K A$41.8K

44.59%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.8K MYR 146.1K

$30.1K A$43.3K

18.88%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$37.72 MYR 154

$223 A$320

-83.05%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$9.73 MYR 39.71

$27.16 A$39.02

-64.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.90 MYR 81.2

$55.8 A$80.2

-64.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.69 MYR 101

$74.6 A$107

-66.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.83 MYR 60.5

$23.99 A$34.47

-38.18%

Cinema Ticket

$2.88 MYR 11.77

$17.56 A$25.23

-83.60%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$418 MYR 1,704

$2,196 A$3,155

-80.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K MYR 44.1K

$28.2K A$40.5K

-61.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.8 MYR 240

$78.4 A$113

-25.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.57 MYR 145

$68.4 A$98.3

-48.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.9 MYR 302

$111 A$160

-33.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.7 MYR 284

$134 A$193

-48.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$186 MYR 760

$2,500 A$3,592

-92.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 MYR 995

$1,709 A$2,456

-85.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 MYR 2,015

$4,946 A$7,105

-90.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$365 MYR 1,488

$3,022 A$4,342

-87.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,236 MYR 5,042

$13.2K A$18.9K

-90.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$480 MYR 1,958

$8,370 A$12.0K

-94.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 MYR 2,008

$4,113 A$5,910

-88.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

5.84

-30.82%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Sungai Petani: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Sungai Petani

$244 30.3%

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2% 601% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sungai Petani

$244 30.2%

Sydney

$379 12% 55.3% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Sungai Petani

$107 13.3%

Sydney

$177 5.6% 65% $70

Eating Out

Sungai Petani

$94 11.7%

Sydney

$299 9.5% 217% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sungai Petani

$67 8.4%

Sydney

$306 9.7% 354% $238

Sport & Entertainment

Sungai Petani

$30 3.8%

Sydney

$110 3.5% 260% $79

Getting Around

Sungai Petani

$19 2.4%

Sydney

$174 5.5% 805% $154

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $186 in Sungai Petani and $2,500 in Sydney. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 736% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $17.00 in Sungai Petani vs $91.0 in Sydney for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $379 per month, with Sungai Petani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sungai Petani

🇦🇺 Sydney

🕒 Local time

00:02 12:02 AM

03:02 3:02 AM

3 h ahead of Sungai Petani

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,053

4,840,600

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sungai Petani Sydney 6,900 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sungai Petani
Sydney

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Sungai Petani vs Sydney: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sungai Petani and Sydney differ by about 291% in total monthly costs ($806 vs $3,152 including rent). Sungai Petani is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 736% lower in Sydney. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $186 in Sungai Petani versus $2,500 in Sydney. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $418 in Sungai Petani versus $2,196 in Sydney. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $806 in Sungai Petani versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sungai Petani but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Sungai Petani the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Sungai Petani and Sydney are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sungai Petani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 291% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.